Jungkook stood there, mesmerized by the older astronaut and couldn't hold in his smile. He almost wanted to run up to the man and ask him many questions about space, yet he knew he had to hold back because Jimin wasn't in his strongest state at the moment. So, the two exchanged gazes until… Mr. Park stepped up and all the astronomers kept quiet so Jimin's head wouldn't be spinning from the noise.

           At last, Jimin was back on earth. His ears were filled with the sounds of moving wind, the sways of the high grass against the ankles of every astronomer and the buzzing sound of the rocket powering down. Jimin made a smile, finally pulling his gaze away from Jungkook to look at his own father and nudge the astronauts to bring him closer to the ground. As soon as his shoes touched the soil, Jimin teared up because of those wasted hours in space, he was weak now, but he never regretted his expedition. He was able to last one earth year in space and it made his life become so frail before his own eyes. Speech was limited and walking was tough… But he still held a smile; happy to be back home than staying in the B248 for hours on end.

            “Jimin… It's me, your father… We would talk over the communicator…” Mr. Park whispered softly and once Jimin got close enough, Jimin moved his hands up from the astronauts' shoulders and moved them in to give his father a hug. Jimin's suit was a little heavy, but the father hugged the boy and didn't really care about how heavy the suit became. “I'll take him to the facility… Jungkook, come here.” The man spoke up as Jungkook felt like his heart began to sink once Mr. Park signalled him to come forward. In reality, Jungkook had no idea why his heart was pounding as if he was going to meet the president of South Korea… Maybe it was just the fact that seeing Jimin for the first time made him worry about what the man might think of him. “Jimin, this is Mr. Jeon Jungkook… He's going to be your caretaker after a week and you'll be living at his place. He'll make sure you'll be strong enough to come back.” The man said into a whisper as Jimin locked eyes with Jungkook once again and rose his hand to shake with his.

          Almost instantly, Jungkook noticed the size difference between the two. Their hands were in contact and Jungkook turned Jimin's gloved hand over to see that the man had a small hand. He wanted to comment on it, but he held it back just so he wouldn't get on the man's bad side. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Park…” Jungkook said into a soft whisper and just then, Jimin rose his hand to drop over Jungkook's shoulder and held him close so he along with Jimin's father, walk him to the facility.

          “It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Jeon..” Jimin whispered and kept his gaze at the young astronomer as Mr. Park and Jungkook kept moving the man forward and walked him to the facility. Jungkook looked to his right to gaze back at the older man when Jimin was right in the middle of gazing at the young boy. Jungkook just didn't know what to do, Jimin was just as cute as the pictures he was shown and how he was described… However, Jungkook was set aback once Jimin kept gazing right at him. Of course, he couldn't tell what Jimin had in mind, but so far; Jungkook knew he was on Jimin's good side.

       Once they reached the care unit, Jimin was placed to stand on his own as he tried to take off his space suit. He grew weak and suddenly fell back onto a hospital bed he was in front of and laid back to gaze up at the ceiling as Mr. Park tried his best to help Jimin out of his astronaut suit. Just as he pulled down the top part of the suit, Jimin was wearing a loose white sweater under it, black tight jeans and white socks. Wearing this similar to when he departed a year ago. To him, it felt like he was gone for a day, but his body knew it was an earth year. As confusing it may have seemed, it was unbelievable for Jimin to accept that it really has been a year.

      “I'll be sure to get you new and comfortable clothes to put on while you're here. You need to get used to eating as much as you need to and learn how to at least walk with crutches to be able to head over to Mr. Jeon's house next week. Until then, you need to take your vitamins and try to move your legs like before.” The astronaut's father claimed and this made Jimin nod his head and looked around the white care unit. The bright white color across the room was uneasy on his eyes and spent much time closing them and nodding his head to everything. The man's silence made Mr. Park's heart grow heavy as he then watched how his son tried to adjust to the feeling of the soft bed, the bright white colors, and the atmosphere around him.

          Jungkook took a moment and backed up to let the man get used to at least having his father's company around. As Jungkook left the care unit, he looked through the glass to see Mr. Park sit down in front of the man and try to get a conversation out of him. “Jimin… You've been gone for a year… Everyone thought you were dead but here you are! Are you happy to be back?”

         “Happy… Of course I am…” Jimin whispered and looked down at his clothes. It felt like he still wore his heavy suit and every time he moved his arms, it's like he was under water with his movements growing delay due to the gravity in space. “I've never felt more alive…”

        “You'll be back together again. I know it… Jungkook was such a nice boy to offer you a spot in his house.”

          “Father… I smiled at him.” Jimin whispered and finally looked up to Mr. Park. “Because.. I know he's my replacement… he showed up once I disappeared right?”

           “Jimin, if you want your job back he'll be fired-”

           “No…” Jimin whispered aimlessly and let out a sigh. “Please don't take it from him… Let him keep it…” Jimin continued his soft whispers and took breaks in between to catch his breath. “I don't want this job… Anymore…”

          “What? Jimin! You've worked so hard to get your spot here and that task to space didn't mean nothing! Stay here… I know how much you love the stars! You'll regret it-” Mr. Park then stopped himself as soon as he watched Jimin suddenly slam his hands against his own ears to cover them and the weak man let out a heavy huff. “I-I'm so sorry…” Mr. Park apologized as Jimin kept his eyes shut and his ears covered by his small hands. “Ah… This is more difficult than I thought… You just can't quit this job. You are a role model to everyone out there.”

         “I don't want to take his… Happiness.. Away…” Jimin breathed steadily and looked up at his father once more. “Tell me he'll keep this job.. I just want out of it… It's scary for me to think of being sent up there again…I-I could have died…” Jimin sobbed and that's when his voice cracked in the whisper and he only kept his hands over his ears. “If my caretaker… loves this job.. He'll keep it. The stars aligned for him to take this job. I don't want it.” Jimin whispered and then covered his face. Willing to give such a high title job to the boy Jimin was replaced with a year back. Jimin wasn't jealous… He was glad Jungkook was taking his spot because at the end of the day, Jimin was in love with the stars after all these years, but only now, he grew to hate it.

            Jungkook sat in his station and thought of Jimin. He just never knew someone like Jimin would come across his own mind endlessly. All he questioned was if Jimin was going to be okay. As the boy set his pencil down and stopped calculating distances from the Andromeda Galaxy, Taehyung and Namjoon was right by his side working on the same thing. But, Namjoon caught Jungkook's attention shifting off track and into the stars once more.

         “Jungkook… Pick up your pencil, your husband will be fine.” Namjoon teased and made the boy bat his eyes and fix onto his notes to see doodles of the yellow planet he dreamt of, the B248 and a little astronaut floating around.

         “I don't see what's the big ‘excitement’ about Park Jimin coming home… For all I care, he should have stayed in that rocket for another month!” Taehyung hissed and dropped his pencil to push the center of his glasses up. “I hate that I'm like this… But I just can't seem to let go of it…”

          “Ah, Taehyung just work on the Andromeda Galaxy, I'm pretty sure you'll get Jungkook upset if you keep talking about ‘his' Jimin.” Namjoon teased and began to laugh.

         “You guys! I'm just worried about him.. Ah, then I have to wait a week to take care of him and then a long time from now, once he's recovered I can ask him questions. Why can't I ask him now? I'm his caretaker… I could at least ask him one question.” Jungkook told his close friends and Taehyung only let out a laugh and rolled his chair in closer to the young astronomer.

           “All about the questions! Ah, I knew you still loved me. I'll take you back, my kookie crunch!” Taehyung joked around and this made Jungkook suddenly slam his hand over Taehyung’s face to push him in his chair back. Having the older man roll across the floor and have his arms extended out.

           “Kookie crunch?” Namjoon asked and kept laughing when he suddenly snapped his pencil in two. “Shit…”

          “The way you keep stretching this joke scares me.” Jungkook replied and chuckled as Taehyung pushed himself to bump into Jungkook's rolling chair.

            “It gets your attention, doesn't it?” Taehyung played along as their attention was brought to Namjoon's broken pencil in his hands. “Namjoon-”

            “I can explain…” Namjoon replied as the three laughed together. However, with all these laughs and jokes, Jungkook still worried about Jimin and grew impatient to talk to the man. He wanted questions answered, but knew he had to wait until the man was more stable.

           Later on the night as the facility was closing, some astronomers stayed behind to study the night sky as Jungkook stood up from his station and noticed that he was the only one left behind in his work area. Other astronomers went over to the observatory while some went home for the day. All in all, Jungkook was more than ready to get home. By now, his phone had five missed calls from Choi Lee-Young and Jungkook only glanced at it before setting it in his pocket. Only willing to call her once he was on his way home.

          As the boy took off his lab coat and set it on a hanger in his work station, a little thought wandered in his head and that was to see Jimin at least once before he was to go. Jungkook cleared his throat and walked over to the care unit and carried his red coat to match with his maroon dress shirt. “I'll just take a look at him… That's all..” Jungkook whispered and he began to walk quickly to the care unit. Along the way, he questioned this thought and almost turned around once he approached Jimin's window to his room and noticed that the man was still awake.

           Jimin sat on his bed and only tried to get up, but as he tried, he fell onto his knees and dropped his hands onto the ground. Only huffing heavily in a pant as Jungkook watched how Jimin tried to get up again, but only made things worse. Eventually, Jimin was still in contact with the ground and silently wept. He wasn't strong in the legs and had to rely on his arms pulling him up from now on. Jungkook just couldn't stand by to watch this and quickly walked in, dropping his coat to run over to Jimin and help him up. At that moment, Jimin's teary and gleaming eyes locked with Jungkook's and he watched how the boy wrapped his arm around Jimin's small waist and pulled him up against his own body to get him back on his feet.

          “Jimin, it's going to be okay… I have you now…” Jungkook assured into a whisper against the man's ear and this made Jimin feel as if his own stars aligned, and their gazes exchanged once more in the gleam within each other's deep stares. At that very moment, Jungkook and Jimin pushed every thought out of their mind and kept their eyes locked as their bodies were close in the calm silence that followed after.